Alexander Ushkalo

Alexander Nikolayevich Ushkalo (; born 1964) is a Kyrgyzstani-Russian serial killer and thief who killed six people in robberies committed across three Russian regions from 1998 to 1999. Found not guilty by reason of insanity due to his schizophrenia, he was detained at a psychiatric facility, where he presumably remains to this day.

Early life Alexander Nikolayevich Ushkalo was born in 1964 in Jalal-Abad, Kirghiz SSR, but moved to the Novosibirsk Oblast sometime during his youth. He studied at the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School, where he was nicknamed "Gromozeka" due to his large stature and bulky build. After graduating as a political commissar, he was dispatched to the Ukrainian SSR to work on one of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's sarcophagi. Following the reactor's meltdown in 1986, seemingly scarred by the event, Ushkalo started drinking heavily and began showing signs of mental illness, which he exhibited by writings odd poems that often referenced the sarcophagus he worked on. Due to his worsening mental behaviour, he was abandoned by his wife and child and was dishonorably discharged from the army due to disciplinary issues.

In the early 1990s, Ushkalo settled in Prokopyevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, where he lived in various apartments rented to him by elderly people. At around this time, he started burgling various offices around the city in order to steal computer monitors, which he then threw into the Ob River. In response, Ushkalo grabbed a nearby axe and hit the woman ten times on the head, killing her. The murder was witnessed by the student, who was subsequently hacked to death. After killing both victims, Ushkalo stole 11,000 rubles, some gold jewellery and his landlady's husband's passport, whereupon he fled the city and travelled around the country. Although initially deemed sane, he was soon sent back for re-examination after details of his poems and other strange activities were presented at court. The results of the second examination concluded that he had schizophrenia, and as a result, could not be held legally liable for the crimes. Because of this, Ushkalo was instead confined to an undisclosed mental health facility, where he presumably remains to this day.